Is Oud a fad? Will Oud be passé soon?

[yardie]

Hey Evbo!

The sampler pack just arrived today, thankfully. I've been waiting with great anticipation since I ordered it, couldn't wait to rip it open to sniff them out.

I have to say, I am extremely impressed with these scents (Oud Taiga was included).

From what I can glean from his scents, David has a vision (no pun intended) that is diametrically opposite of the modern design houses.

I can only describe this in such a way that if you consider modern popular offerings as 'sweet', David has gone the way of 'savoury'; and very successfully I must add.

Not sure if I should be thanking you or cursing you as I see myself spending more coin in the very near future.

Cheers!
-S

EDIT

Yeah, $600 later...I'm cursing you...!

 

[Evbo]

Yeah, $600 later...I'm cursing you...!

Ha!

Well. 1st of all, glad you like the scents! David's a hugely talented guy (as well as quite a character). He & I have been threatening to get together for ages & burn some oud chips; will pass your glowing review along whenever we do.

2nd of all, $600. Painful, I know. Yet unfortunately merely a drop in the (oud-filled) bucket. Olfactory bliss don't come cheap, yo.

Which scents did you buy?

Enjoy!

 

[yardie]

David seems to be quite a great guy indeed, he sent a pers email thanking me for the purchase...I can only ascertain that my particular order is unique.

What did I get...?

15ml Oud Taiga (again, thanks for the recommendation)
15ml Real Oud
15ml Far Nwest
15ml Rucher Fleuri (thinking my Wife will like this)

While I wanted to really like Gone But Not, it just simply didn't resonate with me.

2nd of all, $600. Painful, I know. Yet unfortunately merely a drop in the (oud-filled) bucket. Olfactory bliss don't come cheap, yo.

Quoted for truth...especially when the Canuck Loonie is only $0.80 on exchange!

 

[Badgermadger]

Funny story...

A few years back, before going to work one morning I layered some Burmese oud (beautiful, smoky-smelling stuff) with some tincture of ambergris. About 14-15 hours later, I was in a dive bar having a drink with a friend of mine. The bar was crowded; we had each had a couple of brews.

FRIEND: <sniffing the air with a wrinkled nose & a disgusted look on his face> Whew... do you smell that? <sniff, sniff> What's that smell?

ME: (innocently) What smell? I don't smell anything.

FRIEND: <sniff, sniff> I dunno... smells like... <sniff, sniff> roach spray. You don't smell that?

ME: No, I don't. But hey, look at this place. Are you surprised?

FRIEND: <laughs> No, guess not.

Hahah, yeah don't get me wrong, there are some really good ouds that are blended really well and just smell amazing. Just a few for an example are Oud Wood & Pardon. Both get great compliments, but some stuff that I own that are heavy on oud gets bad feedback... and even I have trouble wearing it... it's more like a repellent haha.

 

[Evbo]

Hahah, yeah don't get me wrong, there are some really good ouds that are blended really well and just smell amazing. Just a few for an example are Oud Wood & Pardon. Both get great compliments, but some stuff that I own that are heavy on oud gets bad feedback... and even I have trouble wearing it... it's more like a repellent haha.

Not familiar w/the frags you mention, but I'm 99.999999% certain that there's no actual oud in either of them. Likely they use whatever aromachemicals are used for that "band aid"-like pseudo-oud smell.

The Burmese oud I mention in my little tale of olfactory woe (his, not mine ) is an actual essential oil. "Oud" as such is an essential oil distilled from the infected wood of the Aquilaria tree, which is a South Asian evergreen. Scent profiles of different oud oils vary wildly depending on the exact species of Aquilaria, the place/conditions in which the tree grew, age of the tree, nature/type of infection, etc. etc. Finding wild-infected wood these days isn't easy, to put it mildly. Farmed trees w/deliberately-induced infections can be dicey -- you never know how the oil's gonna turn out. Not meaning to get all pedantic 'n stuff but its rarity & expense are why most Western perfumers will never bother to use the Real Deal.

 

[yardie]

...but its rarity & expense are why most Western perfumers will never bother to use the Real Deal.

Truth.

I first purchased a few designer house 'oud' colognes and after trying authentic oud I'm hard pressed to detect any oud in their offerings.

I'm sure there may be one or two scents that use real oud, but the majority are synthetic.

With that being said I'm thoroughly impressed with the two oud perfume samples that I received from Phoenicia, there is no doubt at all that they are oud based.

 

[kyaraboi]

Has M7 been mentioned here? Tom Ford really broke the oud barrier with that one while still at YSL. Western ouds are made by Firmenich and Givaudan, the two largest perfume chemistry houses in the world. These aromachemicals cost no more than any other basic aromachemicals so the added price for a western oud frag is really smoke, marketing and mirrors. My favorite western ouds are Krigler's Oud for Highness, Xerjoff's Oud Star Series (which may well have some real oud in it), and L'artisan's Al Oudh which first grabbed my nose's attention and set me on a course of devout oudism.
Personally I express my passion for oud by blending personal mukhallats, mixtures of essential oils including oud oil. roses, jasmine, spices, frankincense, cardomom, saffron, vetiver, angelica root, labdanum, caraway amber and amebergris are some of the elements that may find their ways into a mukhallat for personal usage.

 

[Evbo]

Krigler's Oud for Highness is very nice, yes. Overall, I've found Krigler to be a pretty high-quality house, oud or no. That said, the price they're asking for 30ml (or is it 50?) is quite...high. Personally, I'd rather pay a little more & get actual oud oil.

Haven't sampled Xerjoff's Oud Star series, but honestly I haven't been that impressed with other samples from that house. Their prices are also quite high. But I'm with you on the mukhallats. I don't blend my own, but I'd much rather wear an oil-based, blended perfume that contains actual oud oil & other great-smelling stinky stuff than pay thru the nose (ha) for an alcohol-based concoction made up primarily of synthetics.

 

[Anthorn]

Well yes, Agarwood (Oudh) is the most expensive wood in the world and highly prized as a perfume and especially to perfume incense in the Far East and that high price justifies the high price of Oud perfume products. But the major question is does the expensive Oud perfume product actually contain Oude or does it contain a cheap synthetic substitute. If the latter what justifies the high price?

Oud is a fad and people will go on to the next thing which might be big just as they moved on from Fougeres when they discovered that Fougere means fern-like and not fern and the fragrance they were getting was not fern but moss!

I'm not pointing the finger here. I'm assuming that everyone is able to read the ingredients list on the label and form their own conclusions.

 

[kyaraboi]

Well yes, Agarwood (Oudh) is the most expensive wood in the world and highly prized as a perfume and especially to perfume incense in the Far East and that high price justifies the high price of Oud perfume products. But the major question is does the expensive Oud perfume product actually contain Oude or does it contain a cheap synthetic substitute. If the latter what justifies the high price?

Oud is a fad and people will go on to the next thing which might be big just as they moved on from Fougeres when they discovered that Fougere means fern-like and not fern and the fragrance they were getting was not fern but moss!

I'm not pointing the finger here. I'm assuming that everyone is able to read the ingredients list on the label and form their own conclusions.

Reading the label or the list of ingredients on Fragrantica will not tell you that the main ingredients of a perfume are really iso-E super, hedione, orange terpines, aldehydes and salicylates, you will instead be given a list of natural fragrance notes that the aromachemicals emulate. If you have a mass spectrometer you can get the real ingredients. Most western perfumes cost $1-$2 to make, nothing natural can come from that price point.

 

[kyaraboi]

Anyway in mainstream perfumerie right now oud is not center stage, iris is the new oud. Creating an iris accord is extremely challenging and I think the big aromachemical blenders, Givaudan, Firmenich and IFF have taken this scent on in part because of the complexity of the creation of good iris accords. Ramon Monegal's "Iris Impossible" and F Malle's "Iris Poudre" are interesting takes on this trend.

 

[Anthorn]

Reading the label or the list of ingredients on Fragrantica will not tell you that the main ingredients of a perfume are really iso-E super, hedione, orange terpines, aldehydes and salicylates, you will instead be given a list of natural fragrance notes that the aromachemicals emulate. If you have a mass spectrometer you can get the real ingredients. Most western perfumes cost $1-$2 to make, nothing natural can come from that price point.

The ingredients list should be on the box or otherwise accompanying the product. My point is though that an expensive ingredient, in this case Oude, should not be reflected in the price if it's not in there.

 

[Evbo]

My point is though that an expensive ingredient, in this case Oude, should not be reflected in the price if it's not in there.

Yes, agreed. Marketing & sales, however, might disagree with you. In fact, based on the prices these "oud" frags go for, they entirely disagree with you. Yet, people pay. And as long as they keep paying, the price isn't gonna go down anytime soon.

 

[pbrmhl]

I sported Phoenicia Realoud today for the first time. For the second time since I started wearing fragrances about seven months ago, my wife said I was wearing a fragrance she doesn't like. Then she added it smells like "veg." I corrected her, and explained it's called "The Veg." The Veg is the other scent she doesn't like, of course. She calls it "talcum-powdered cow patty."

P.S. I like Realoud, and the Veg.

 

[Evbo]

I sported Phoenicia Realoud today for the first time. For the second time since I started wearing fragrances about seven months ago, my wife said I was wearing a fragrance she doesn't like.

Doesn't surprise me. Oud is non-Western, not "pretty" & definitely challenging. Worth the effort, tho.

Then she added it smells like "veg." I corrected her, and explained it's called "The Veg." The Veg is the other scent she doesn't like, of course. She calls it "talcum-powdered cow patty."

P.S. I like Realoud, and the Veg.

Haven't smelled The Veg IRL and honestly, I'm not sure I need to. My sympathies to your wife on both counts.

 

[yardie]

Haven't smelled The Veg IRL and honestly, I'm not sure I need to.

You are correct.

 

[yardie]

View attachment 569930

 

[Executive Contour]

Well yes, Agarwood (Oudh) is the most expensive wood in the world and highly prized as a perfume and especially to perfume incense in the Far East and that high price justifies the high price of Oud perfume products. But the major question is does the expensive Oud perfume product actually contain Oude or does it contain a cheap synthetic substitute. If the latter what justifies the high price?

Oud is a fad and people will go on to the next thing which might be big just as they moved on from Fougeres when they discovered that Fougere means fern-like and not fern and the fragrance they were getting was not fern but moss!

I'm not pointing the finger here. I'm assuming that everyone is able to read the ingredients list on the label and form their own conclusions.

Reading Luca Turin last night he pointed out that the oud "trend" began in earnest immediately after a number of good synthetic oud fragrances were invented. In other words, without synthetic oud, it would probably still be out of reach.

Having said that, oud is a material, not a trend. It's another color in the paintbox. You wouldn't refer to sandalwood, lavender, musk, or citrus as "trends," because they are basic materials that have been used since time immemorial. Some of these materials may come into greater use as a result of availability, and others may disappear as a result of unavailability (oakmoss, for example). Oud may well become less prominent as it becomes more ubiquitous, to the point of invisibility, in the way that the above scents have become.

 

[Evbo]

View attachment 569930

Nice!!

 

[yardie]

Nice!!

David has talent indeed.